In an interview posted today by U.S. News & World Report, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) addressed the danger that the deployment of American troops in Jordan — announced Oct. 9 — will drag the United States into the civil war in Syria. "I can see in a moment how it happens: we're a few dozen miles from the Syrian border and all of a sudden we are within the reach of physical danger. All it takes is a single incident," Kucinich was quoted. After making the point that President Obama sent the troops to Jordan without notifying Congress, Kucinich said:

"Putting U.S. troops on that border draws the U.S. much closer to war in Syria, which is a nightmare already and can be more of a nightmare for our country. The talk of stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons ... that's an argument for making an effort to try to lessen the violence, not intensify it. There's a trail of causality here. Once you position U.S troops on the border of a conflict area, it immeasurably increases the possibility of the U.S. getting drawn into the conflict — because we're there."